No-fly zone over Newport for Nato summit

RESTRICTIONS have been put in place on the airspace over Newport, Cardiff and even Bristol for three days during the Nato summit.

The Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace restrictions will stop any aircraft, excluding emergency services and those taking off and landing from Cardiff and Bristol airports, from flying below 10,500 feet in a 20-nautical mile radius of Celtic Manor.

The restrictions, put in place by the Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin, will be in force from 9am on September 3 to 8pm on September 5.

Further restrictions will be in place as far away as Minehead on September 4 when aircraft flying below 10,500 feet are banned from a 20-nautical mile radius of Cardiff between 4pm and 23.59pm.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Armitt, who is in charge of the Nato summit policing operation, said: “The police don’t enforce no fly zones but there has been advice and guidance given out in relation to this event.

“Everyone will get a bit nervous if a low and slow moving aircraft came over the Celtic Manor when 60 world leaders are here.”

Any unauthorised aircraft within the restricted zone will be intercepted by a military aircraft in an attempt to guide them out of the airspace.

Mr Armitt added that road closures announced yesterday on parts of Catsash Road and Bulmore Road are taking place for six days to allow time for world leaders and delegates to arrive and searches to be carried out.

He said: “Although the summit lasts for two days, many of the world leaders will be here for three days as not everyone can get here at the same time.”

He added that further searches will need to be carried out once all the steel fences have gone up around Celtic Manor and again once roads have been closed.

He said: “In the Brighton hotel bombing, the device had been left in there for weeks before the hotel was used by the Government.”

Talking about the steel fences that are now lining the M4, Mr Armitt said closing one lane of the slip road at junction 24 was the only option as the barriers could not be placed on the grass verges.

He said this was “minimal disruption” and that police will be monitoring the impact on traffic.

Mr Armitt also promised that police would deal with disruptive protestors “robustly and quickly”.

He added: “We’re not planning other road closures but with the proposed march on August 30, if that protest is in significant numbers that would necessitate temporary closures of roads.”

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